Study Highlights Eyeliner Risk

Applying eyeliner to the inner eye has been shown to pose a heightened risk to vision.

A study, conducted by Dr Alison Ng when she was at Cardiff University, observed the amount of eyeliner particles that migrated into the tear film after applying makeup in different styles.

‘We noticed that the makeup migration happened quicker and was greater when eyeliner was put on the inner lid margin,’ said Dr Ng, now at the Centre for Contact Lens Research at the University of Waterloo, Canada.

Each participant wore glitter eyeliner outside the lash line, and then on the inner lid area closer to the eye, or along the waterline.

The findings, published in Eye and Contact Lens Science and Clinical Practice journal, found between 15 and 30 per cent more particles moved into the eye’s tear film when subjects applied eyeliner to the inside of the lash line. The makeup also moved more quickly into the eye when eyeliner was applied inside the lash line.

‘People who wear contact lenses are most likely to notice some problems,’ added Dr Ng. ‘If they have eyeliner stuck to their lenses, increasing deposits might cause vision disruption as the lens becomes cloudier.’